New Hopes
by sarahofearth
Summary: Anybody remember the episode “Families”? Yes, well, I felt they left it hanging… Punchline: Elliot adopts Aidan. How does he handle his new charge? Definite AU. Rated for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I'm not sure if anybody remembers the episode "Families." But this is my take on what happened. I'll give a synopsis of what happened after:

**Synopsis (must read): **If you do remember the "Families" episode, you know that Aiden was left alone after his father was killed and his mothers (yes, I said mothers) were put in prison. tear So sad. Anyways, in the end he was left with his brother. (Now for my twist on things) After all that other stuff, the brother ends up being taken in by his mom's sister, leaving Aidan, once again, alone. He explains his tragic tale to Elliot and, because he and Aidan had gotten along so finely, Elliot decides to adopt him. It wasn't the "I'm alone." "I'll adopt ya." type thing. It was much less cheesy and "spur-of-the moment." It's been three months and Elliot is officially allowed to take Aidan home. Yay. On with the story, taking off right from where I said.

**Disclaimer**: I think it's a good idea that I don't own this show. Yes. I did say that.

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Elliot finished packing the last of Aidan's things in the back of his sedan. He closed the trunks with a thud and slid into the front seat where Aidan sat beside him. He started the engine and pulled out of the Child Services Agency where Aidan had been residing for the past three months.

"That's where I'll be dropping you off tomorrow," Elliot said, pointing at the large school with the words "Madison High School" printed on the front in gold letters.

Aidan nodded at it and continued to sit quietly.

Elliot glanced at the young man beside him. He wasn't usually this timid. Elliot had spent quite a lot of time with Aidan the past two months. He learned a lot of his favorite things and a few of personality mannerisms. He was really only quiet around new people, but even then, it wasn't for very long.

"Is something wrong?" Elliot asked, glancing over at the young man who sat staring out the window.

Aiden's head jerked back quickly.

"Yeah, of course," Aidan said quickly.

Elliot hadn't exactly been in the parenting business a long time, not since the divorce at least, but he did know when a person was lying.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Elliot asked.

Aidan gave him a quizzical look.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm a cop." Elliot said. Aidan continued to stare at him confused. "This means I know when someone is lying to me."

A look of understanding then embarrassment spread across Aidan's face.

"I-I'm not lying to you, everything's really fine." Aidan stuttered.

Elliot smiled and glanced at the young man.

"Now you're making it too easy." He said. Aidan gave a smile in reply and surrendered.

"I was just thinking about my mom…" he trailed off.

Oh, the "mom subject." The topic had come up once before, leaving behind a tear-stained Aidan and a helpless Elliot. God, if only he could evaporate into his seat. The big, tough Elliot couldn't handle the subject of a simple woman.

"W-what were you thinking about?" Elliot asked reluctantly, he had to be there for Aidan. "Being there" didn't entail clamming up every time the subject of his mother came up.

"I don't know, just 'stuff' about her, memories, I guess." Aidan said, biting his lip. "She wasn't a horrible person, Elliot."

"I know," Elliot reassured. "She did what she did to protect you, but nonetheless…"

"Yeah, I know…" There was a brief silence. "I was actually wondering…"

This couldn't be good.

"…Maybe I could visit her?" Aidan gave Elliot a hopeful gaze. Ugh, the kid knew that was his weakness.

"Okay, I'll arrange it sometime this week," Elliot said, trying not to show his lack of enthusiasm.

Aidan smiled contentedly as Elliot pulled into the New York apartment complex.

xxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxx

Aidan scanned the apartment with intense interest. He had never been in it before. Elliot usually made him wait in the car when they actually came here, so he was understandably curious about where he would be living for the next few years.

The apartment was reasonably large for a detective's salary, Aidan observed. It had simple decorating, which was typical for a "guy pad." What wasn't typical about it was the cleanliness of it. But that was explicable since Elliot was so busy with his work.

Elliot came through the door carrying four large bags.

"Man, that guy is strong," Aidan thought to himself as he watched Elliot drop the bags loudly at the entrance.

Elliot looked up at the young man and smiled.

"What do you think?" Elliot said, motioning a little at the room.

"It's clean," Aidan commented.

"Yeah, I don't really hang out here much," Elliot said, looking around. "Here, I'll show you your room."

Aidan followed Elliot to a room on the right. It was a pretty big room, empty, but big.

"Of course, you're going to have to put some stuff in it, but for now, you can just unpack." Elliot exclaimed. With that, he left to retrieve Aidan's bags.

Aidan looked around the room. The walls were painted white and the furniture in the room was white wood. He sat on the bed and examined himself in the mirror on the side.

Aidan had gone through many mood swings when he had lost his family. When he lost his dad, he went into a deep state of depression. When his mom was arrested, he went even deeper. The losses had happened so fast, Aidan barely knew what was happening most of the time.

Losing his half-brother just put the icing on the cake for Aidan. He sat in the cold waiting room of Child Services, trying to think of a place he could go besides an orphanage. This last year alone had changed Aidan's perception of life in so many ways.

Aidan pondered more about the past month while staring at his reflection in the mirror to his side. He had gotten skinnier in the past months, mostly from being too depressed to eat, and had little dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. Elliot would pretend not to notice the changes in Aidan's appearance, but his constant nagging (as Aidan would put it) for him to eat more or to go to bed earlier were definite giveaways.

Aidan sighed, rubbing his hand over his face and flopping back into his bed. He opened his eyes to see Elliot entering in with his luggage.

"Tired?" he said, spotting Aidan lying on the bed.

"Not really," Aidan lied.

Elliot set the bags down with a heavy thud and then looked up.

"Okay, well, I'm going to leave you to unpack and then we-" Elliot stopped.

A familiar ring interrupted him.

Elliot swiftly flipped open his cell phone and pressed a small button.

"Stabler. Really? Okay, I'll be there in a minute." Elliot flipped it close and went to walk out the door then halted. He looked back at Aidan who was sitting on his bed with an expectant look on his face.

"Oh, uh, I'm going to the station tonight. You can order some pizza." Elliot said, feeling guilty about almost forgetting about the young man.

Aidan nodded.

Elliot pulled out his wallet, handed Aidan a twenty, gave him a small hug, and then left the room.

"Call me I you need anything" he called out after him. "Be in bed by ten, not a minute more."

Aidan blinked at the money in his hand, realizing he didn't know the number to any pizza places. He sighed and exited his room in search of a phone book.

Aidan fingered various papers on the desk in Elliot's office. Most of them were case files, notes, basically, stuff that he shouldn't be looking at. He examined pictures of his daughters and his ex. He had been curious about them, for, once again, Elliot had disregarded to tell him.

Aidan flipped though the phone book and dialed the number to Dino's Pizza. He had the pizza on the marble counter forty-five minutes later.

xxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxx

"So, how's it going with Aidan?" Olivia asked from the passenger side of the black sedan. The partners were yet again staked out a said-to-be rapist's house. It had been two hours and it didn't look like anything would be happening tonight.

"Pretty good," Elliot replied, shrugging.

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked with a smile. "I know what that shrug means, Elliot."

"What shrug?" Elliot said innocently. Olivia gave him a look. "Fine. He, he wants to see his mom."

"Oh," Olivia said shrewdly. "What did you say?"

"I said I would arrange it," Elliot said simply.

"You would arrange it?" Olivia said incredulously. "But, don't you think she might be a little mad when she sees you with her son?"

"Well…. She does know I adopted him." Elliot said.

"Yes, but I mean, to actually _see_ you with Aidan might be a bit of a shock," Olivia explained.

"I don't see what's so shocking," Elliot said, shrugging.

"Ah, there's the shrug. That means you are a little worried." Olivia said, grinning.

"You read people too well, Olivia," Elliot said, shaking his head, inwardly cursing his "shrug."

"Well, I am a cop," Olivia explained.

"Yes, and I'm stating to regret being one, this stake out isn't going anywhere." Elliot said, rubbing his tired eyes.

A buzz came from the little radio in Olivia's coat. She took it out and pressed the button on the side.

"Benson." Olivia said through the walkie-talkie.

"Patrol unit requesting permission to switch off." A voice said fuzzily through the other side.

"By all means." Elliot mumbled, starting the engine. Olivia smiled and pressed the button again.

"Sure, we're heading out." She said.

"Roger that."

xxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxx

Elliot opened the door to his apartment and set his large coat on a nearby stand. He walked over to the living room to find the TV on and Aidan sleeping on the couch. A light above him was dimly shining and a pizza box lay open on the table.

"I think I'm going to have to tell him a few rules," Elliot said.

Stabler walked over to the couch and switched off the TV with the remote control. He started to wake Aidan but decided against it. One, because he really wanted Aidan to get some rest and, two, because he knew it would be close to impossible to get the teen up.

He went to turn off the lamp above the young man, but decided against that too. Aidan was particularly afraid o the dark, he said he just found the light soothing. Elliot sighed. Aidan and his weird sleeping habits…

He settled himself on the large couch, took out a pizza, and watched the local New York news.

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Okay, well, that's the first chapter. REMEMBER: no matter how fun this story is to write, I will not continue without some feedback. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry, sorry, I haven't updated this in a while. I really didn't feel any incentive until receiving Archer Yi's review. **So, thank you, Archer Yi! **

Disclaimer: I own not Law and Order SVU. Who would get the idea that I did, is beyond me…

New Hopes: Chapter 2

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Elliot strained his ears to hear where that soft buzzing was coming from. Well, he certainly wasn't going to find out just listening. He reluctantly lifted his heavy head of the pillow and saw his cell phone vibrating on the kitchen counter. He looked at the device in surprise and grabbed for his watch on the side table.

"Shoot." He announced when he focused his eyes to see the present time. He looked around frantically for Aidan and found the boy snoring softly at the end of the couch. He quickly shook the boy then ran for his cell phone.

Elliot flipped open his phone and stated in his usual firm tone:

"Stabler."

"Elliot, we have a new case, we need you here at the station ASAP." The voice of his lady partner said in his ear.

Elliot sighed.

"I know, I need to get the kid to school first- Aidan, wake up! -It might be about half hour, forty-five minutes?"

"I'll cover for you with Captain then."

"Thanks, Liv, I owe you one," Elliot smiled.

"I'll see you soon."

The dial tone rung in Elliot's ear for a second before he rounded on the boy still sleeping.

"AIDAN!" He said loudly over the young man.

Aidan woke with a start, staring bewildered around the apartment, his hair swept every which way.

"We're going to be leaving in five minutes, hurry up and get dressed!" Elliot said while walking towards the bathroom located in his room.

Aidan took in his surroundings one more time before plodding tiredly towards his room.

xxxxxXXXXXxxxxx

Aidan emerged from his room five minutes later, looking only slightly more respectable than before. He was dressed in a simple navy-blue sweater and jeans.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Elliot interrogated impatiently at the, to Elliot's dismay, _still_ drowsy boy before him.

Aidan blinked at the older man before heading to the guest bathroom.

"Hurry!" Elliot yelled after him.

Aidan exited out of the bathroom two minutes afterwards. He yawned and stretched smacking his mouth a little.

Elliot rolled his eyes and handed the young man his school bag.

"Aren't we going to eat breakfast?" Aidan asked, staring perplexedly at the backpack.

"We don't have time," the older man replied impatiently nudging the bag into Aidan's arms.

"I've never missed breakfast before…"Aidan muttered loud enough for Elliot to hear.

The older man sighed exasperatedly.

"Look, we'll stop at Krispy Kreme on the way, but that's only if you hurry up and get your butt in the car," Elliot reasoned impatiently.

"My, my, such a grouch in the morning…" Aidan mumbled, walking towards the exit, slinging the backpack over his shoulder.

Elliot sighed once again, picked up his keys, wallet, etc. and followed after his charge.

xxxxxXXXXXxxxxx

Elliot's phone buzzed from its place in the middle of the two front seats.

Elliot went to grab it at the same time trying to watch the road but the young man sipping a coffee got to it first.

"Stabler," Aidan said imitating the older man's gruff tone. Elliot cast him an irritated glance and clenched his jaw.

"Elliot, is that you? You sound a little off…" The voice of Munch said precariously.

"Oh, it's just a cold," Aidan said, coughing exaggeratedly.

Elliot scoffed and pried the phone from the younger man's ear.

"Hey!" Aidan complained.

"Stabler," he said, giving a warning Look to Aidan. The young man huffed and continued to eat his breakfast.

"How'd you get a cold?" Munch asked.

"I don't have a cold," Elliot defended while a certain young man snorted.

"Well, I think you should get over here then, Cragen is getting antsy." Munch exclaimed.

"Okay, I'm going to be there in about… twenty minutes," Elliot estimated finally.

"Sure,"

"Bye," He flipped closed his phone and glared for a moment at the anxious face of his charge.

"Are you nervous?" Elliot asked, not stressing the fact that he meant about school.

Aidan squirmed.

"A little…" Aidan said hesitantly. "Okay, maybe a lot."

Elliot smiled.

"Well, I think you'll be okay. Just be nice and you'll get along with the other kids." He exclaimed.

"Elliot, this isn't preschool," Aidan said, rolling his eyes.

"I know, but, still, the same rule applies," Elliot said.

"Yeah, yeah," Aidan said distractedly, staring out his window at the school to his side. It was a public school, something Aidan wasn't very sure about. You see, he had gone to the most prestigious prep schools in New York all his life. The said schools were much stricter with uniforms and difficult classes. This "public" factor was foreign to the young man. _Did that mean the students would be rude?_ _How do they dress if they don't have uniforms?_ _How do the bathrooms look?_ Thoughts such as these festered at the boy the night before. He guessed he would make his first day like a measuring stick, and observe what would be happening for the rest of the year.

"Do you have everything?" Elliot asked, dragging Aidan out of his stupor, making him realize they had arrived at the dreaded school. "Forms, schedules?"

"Yep," Aidan said, staring open-mouthed at the building before him. Well, the buildings were certainly larger.

Elliot drove around the big fountain in the middle, halting at the entrance of the building. A few student gathered around the front glanced at them but then went back to there usual business of doing whatever.

Aidan grabbed his bag from the back seat and Elliot handed him some money for lunch.

"Just go straight to the office and give the secretary your form," Elliot exclaimed. "Okay, that's it. Have fun."

Aidan rolled his eyes as he got out of the car and walked towards the entrance. A few girls checked him out, some longer than others, as he walked towards the building, but he tried hard to ignore them. "God, please make this a good day," the young man silently prayed.

xxxxxXXXXXxxxxx

Elliot entered the station doors the usual way, only to be met by the angry eyes of his boss.

"Where the heck have you been? I had Olivia call you an hour ago," Captain Cragen exclaimed angrily.

Elliot wasn't one to be at a loss for words but it was just _something_ about being in trouble that did that to him.

"Ah, never mind. You're here now and that just means that you get to work." Cragen said, leaving to enter his office. "Don't be late again, Detective."

Elliot stared after him before transforming into cop mode and walking huffily to his desk.

"What do we got?" Elliot asked his partner who was poring over documents strewn about his desk.

Olivia jerked her head up and smiled.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

Elliot sighed and wiped a hand over his face.

"Well, it took me close to forever to get the kid up and then he started whining about never missing a day of breakfast before- Like that's true, you're bound to miss breakfast once in your life- and then he got all nervous about school and looked like he was going to barf up the breakfast we'd took so long getting in the first place!" Elliot said then exhaling deeply, like he was satisfied he had vented that.

"Ah, the joys of parenthood." Olivia said, smiling, to her partner's utter annoyance.

Elliot sighed and nodded.

"Anyway, what do we got?" he asked.

Munch, as if on cue, handed him a file with the words "Chad Rooney" labeled on the top. Elliot flipped it open to meet a picture of a boy about Aidan's age, now that he thought of it, the boy looked a little like his kid.

"That's Chad Rooney," Munch exclaimed to the man studying the picture. "He was a victim of a gay rapist named "Exta-C." Apparently, he has a thing for white male teens and usually kills them when he's done doing the "job." It's a vulgar tale, but luckily, our boy Chad was able to escape through an airshaft when he was tied in the bathroom. He was found by a couple collapsed, bleeding and naked about two blocks from the station."

Elliot nodded, not looking the least bit stirred by what the detective had just told him. It was just another case that was eventually going to be put to justice.

"We have the kid in the interrogation room right now," Munch said, nodding a head to the memorable door.

Elliot nodded once again and made his way towards the door. Inside he found the familiar-looking boy from the file, with the exception of a few nicks and cuts visible on his face. The young man stared a little taken aback by the muscular detective but quickly gained his composure. Chad nodded towards him, but flinched a little when Elliot took the seat across from him.

"Hey, I'm Elliot Stabler," Elliot said staring intently at the boy who had now decided on chipping at the worn table. "I just need to ask you a few questions about-"

"Look," the boy said firmly, looking up from the table. "I've already been asked about close to fifty times about what happened. Why do you people make me relive what I wanted to forget? If I knew this was going to happen I wouldn't have come here in the first place!"

"First of all," Elliot said sternly. "We need to ask you these questions so that we can get this guy and you could rest easier. Isn't that what you want?"

The young man nodded dolefully but opened his mouth again.

"And second," Elliot continued quickly, cutting of the Chad. "You didn't come here; you were brought here after you collapsed a few blocks away. Would you rather us have left you there?"

Chad sighed and shook his head in the same manner he nodded.

"Good," Elliot said, smiling at his success in making people see things his way. "Now do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"No," the teen answered, dropping his head again to pick at the table.

"First off, how did this happen?" he asked.

"Well, I was walking down my usual direction to get home from school," the young man exclaimed. "Then suddenly, this guy come out, he's about your stature, white, but less balding,"

Elliot twitched at the teen's bluntness.

The boy smiled and continued:

"He asked is I knew where a "hot-babe strip joint" was, and I replied no, I don't go to those things. He started following me when I tried to walk away, going on about how he doesn't go to those either. I stopped and asked what was he talking about, you don't ask some one the directions for a place that you're not going to bother to go to."

Elliot nodded at the logic.

"He said he knew that and that he was just testing me. I asked him what he was testing me for and that's when he knocked me out with chloroformed handkerchief."

The boy paused and looked up.

"Go on," Elliot said.

The boy fidgeted.

"Well, don't you know the rest? I found myself in a bathroom naked then escaped through an airshaft…"

Elliot sighed.

"He didn't, you know, rape you?" he asked carefully.

"Besides the fact that I was naked, I don't think so…" Chad said.

"How do you not know? Didn't they get you a rape kit?" Elliot asked incredulously.

"I didn't want one." Chad said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, then how do you know if you weren't raped!"

"I just know, okay? I'm not going to get one of those!"

Elliot groaned and rubbed his face. This kid was almost as stubborn as Aidan.

"Don't you have any parents or a guardian? You're only seventeen; this isn't really your choice." Elliot explained slowly.

"My uncle came- he's my guardian because my parents didn't want me- he said he'd agree with anything I thought was best for myself. And I think not getting a rape kit is best. I know I haven't been raped. The information I already gave you _should_ be enough to catch this guy. He humiliated me, that's my only incentive for wanting you guys to get him."

Elliot rubbed the ridge of his nose. _How am I going to deal with this kid? How am I going to deal with this kid?_

Suddenly, a woman came in, Elliot and the younger man looked up immediately.

"Elliot, you have a call on line one, it's from Aidan's school."

_Oh, boy…_

xxxxxXXXXXxxxxx

Aidan entered the school doors only to be swarmed by wall-to-wall teens.

_This school is definitely a lot more crowded…_

People were throwing all sorts of things and a ball hit him in the eye.

…_Ow, and chaotic…_

Aidan rubbed his sore eye and handed the ball to a tall jock who sneered at him and walked off, high-fiving his friend. Aidan stared off at him and continued to nurse his eventual black eye. He walked through the halls looking for the office and halted at the appointed number.

He opened the old wooden door with a creak causing the few people that were in there to look up. He gave a small smile at them, still holding his eye with one hand and his forms with another. He walked over to the secretary and handed her the forms.

"Here is your locker number and combination, memorize it, don't lose it." The parrot-nosed lady said to him, handing him a slip of paper. "Here are your books and your other things," She continued to hand him books and other files.

"Okay, thanks," he said, straining to carry his new load.

Aidan made it to his locker okay without any embarrassing run-ins with other teens. He took out his first two books for the beginning classes which he still had yet to locate. He stared intently at the map, plotting how he would get there. A loud snap to his right startled him and he looked up to see a very pretty girl. She had long brown hair and big green-gray eyes, accented by a twinge of purple shadow. She looked a little uncomfortable for surprising Aidan, and gave him a small smile.

Aidan smiled goofily back at her.

"Hey, sorry, I was a little mad there. I didn't mean to…" She started.

"Oh, no, it's alright. I was just kind of daydreaming. I should thank you actually, I'm going to be late for class," Aidan said, trying his best to make this conversation go smoothly.

"Oh, are you new here?" She asked.

"Yeah, this is my first day," he said.

She held out her hand and Aidan shook it.

"I'm Reseda, but people call me Ren. That nickname's never made sense to me really. I don't have an 'n' in my name. Where did it come form?..." Ren babbled on. Aidan watched in awe as her glossy, little lips rambled on about a name. He zoned out looking at them until she waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hello, earth to… Hey, you haven't told me your name yet," she said.

"Right, it's Aidan Connor," he said, smiling.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Ai-" suddenly Ren was interrupted by a huge body pushing her against a locker.

"Hey, baby, what's happening?" the mass cooed into the smaller forms head.

"Steve, get off of me. Get off!" Ren struggled to get "Steve" off of her.

Aidan watched the scene in front of him. This whale was smothering his dream girl. He wasn't going to stand for this.

"She said _get off_," Aidan said firmly, prying the guy off of her.

The guy was startled by his sudden involuntary movement and looked up quickly. He spotted Aidan with a fiery anger in his eyes and knew it was him who pulled him off his girl.

Steve stepped closer to Aidan, using his best towering effect. Aidan stood firm, staring with the same fire.

"What do you have here?" the guy taunted.

"You shouldn't do that to girls," Aidan said sternly, motioning towards Ren.

"_This_ is none of your business," the bulkier boy said, jerking a finger back at Ren. "So why don't you just leave."

Aidan's stare faltered as he cast a glance at Ren. She was still huddled closely to her locker, as if she just wanted to melt into it. _This guy really needs to back off…_

"You need to back off," Aidan said, stepping closer and jabbing a finger hard into Steve's chest.

That was just about it for Steve. He threw a firm punch at Aidan's stomach, causing him to keel over. He then proceeded to kick the fallen young man.

Ren immediately came at his side to defend Aidan but Steve knocked her against a locker, making her topple to the ground, crying. Seeing this, Aidan grabbed Steve's legs and pulled with all his might, causing the bigger young man to fall down.

Aidan climbed on top of Steve and raised his fist to punch him but the bigger boy grabbed him and completely turned the tables. Aidan lay on the floor moaning with Steve on top of him, preparing to literally punch the snot out of him. He got in three strong punches, the first making his nosebleed, the second splitting his lip and the third giving him another black eye before finally completely knocking him out. The young man wasn't sure if he continued punching him after that, but the pounding of his head when he woke in the nurses' ward seemed to answer his question.

A/N: Okay, I'm too tired to continue so I left it at a slight cliffy here. Tell me what you think, I'll try to update sooner than my last! Oh yeah, click the purple magic button and review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Oh, gods, that was waaay too long of a wait. I am so, so sorry. School kept trampling on me but now that it's summer break, I'll have the time (I hope, lol). I hope there are still readers out there!

XxxxXXXxxxX

Elliot knocked through the doors of the high school. He walked in his usual fast pace, causing a few teens to stare at him oddly. He just kept looking straight ahead with a look of determination and a twinge of confusion set on his face- Basically, the kind of look that caused most people to avoid him.

Elliot glanced at every up coming door, checking that he didn't miss the principal's. He stopped at a wooden door and opened it with a resounding creak. A few people looked up, but he ignored them, walking straight to the secretary's desk.

"Hi, my name is Elliot Stabler, you called me about Aidan?" he asked, his face softening a little at his question.

"Oh, right, they'll be with you in a moment," the parrot-nosed woman said distractedly, only glancing up once at the bigger man.

Elliot sighed in frustration. Where was Aidan at? It looked like he was going to have to do this the hard way.

"Look, lady, I'm a cop," the lady looked up from her papers surprised. "I need to see my kid."

The lady stared at him for a moment before regaining her previous nonchalant attitude and going back to reading her papers.

"Yes, well, you still have to wait like the rest of them," she said.

Elliot gave her a death glare before plodding over to the waiting area. He sat heavily down into a cushiony pink chair next to some _interesting_-looking teens. The detective rubbed a hand over his eyes and started to think.

The phone call he had received earlier was too curt and demanding to give him any clue of what had gone on.

"_Yes, Mr. Stabler, your child, Aidan, has gotten into some trouble and we need you to come down to the school immediately. Goodbye."_

Elliot sighed after going over the conversation once more in his head. He expected that the rude secretary sitting mere feet before him was the one who gave him such a vague call…

Elliot was interrupted from his glowering at the woman by an opening of the door he had entered in a few minutes before. A balding, hefty man entered and called out his name.

"That's me," Elliot replied standing up. The bald man nodded and motioned for him to follow.

"His name is Steve Knapped. And it was supposedly a fight over some girl," The man, known as Harry, said as he led Elliot through the almost deserted halls of the school. "We have some witnesses… but none that are exactly _trustworthy_."

Elliot nodded knowingly.

"We're going to get to the bottom of it but first we had to get the two patched up…" Harry said the last sentence hesitantly. The paranoid little man didn't want to say anything to set the larger, most-definitely stronger cop off.

"Patched up?" Elliot asked anxiously as they entered the infirmary of the school. The room smelt sterile and clean, a big difference from the hall just behind the detective. A few kids laid on the small, blue hospital beds in the room as some looked about ready to leave.

The two men passed the beds slowly, Elliot casting glances at the clipboards on the bed, secretly hoping to see which one was "Steve Knapped." Harry answered his question though by pointing out a bigger teen boy behind one of the curtains, making out with some red head.

Elliot peered through the curtains and raised his eyebrowsThe boy was holding an ice pack to the back of his head. Other than that, Elliot couldn't see any further injuries._ Well, he doesn't look too bad, Aidan must be fine._

Harry broke the kissing teens apart and, after a few glares and curse words, they continued their trek towards Aidan's bed.

The man stopped at one of the curtained-beds and opened it carefully. Elliot saw him give a sympathetic sort of face and motioned for the detective to come closer. He walked over a little apprehensively while Harry turned to leave.

"I'll come for you once I get a hold of the vice principal." He said quietly. Elliot nodded as he walked past.

The detective's breath caught in his mouth as he saw the damaged form of his surrogate son lying in small, white bed. Elliot had seen an _innumerable_ amount of horrible things in his life as a cop but that didn't mean some things surprised him once in a while… especially when it dealt with people he cared for.

Elliot silently walked over to the head of the bed and examined the damage done to the young man.

Aidan's left eye was sporting a large purple contusion and just above that on his forehead was a discolored bump. His lip had a butterfly bandage on it while his left nostril had a small piece of cotton up it. Elliot was sure that there must have been more damage done to him under the garments, but he was positive he didn't want to see them for fear he might kill the boy a few beds away.

The older man gently caressed Aidan's cheek, causing him to stir from his slumber. Elliot stared concernedly down at the young man as he groaned from the newly found pain in his head.

Aidan grasped a hand to his head where a dull sort of pain was preceding. He gritted his teeth as to suppress a yell from the entire ache going through his body. He tried hard to remember what had happened only moments before but the soreness throughout his body was really his only concern.

After watching with deep distress, Elliot finally intervened. He grabbed the boy's wrist, causing Aidan to unclench his eyes in alarm, and told him firmly:

"Relax, Aidan."

Aidan visibly calmed down at the sight and sound of Elliot, but it was obvious he still didn't forget about the pain because once Elliot released his grip on Aidan's wrists they immediately tended to his stomach.

"Elliot, it hurts." Aidan said quietly, trying to act somewhat more placid.

"I know, Aidan, but you can get through it. I know you can. This is only temporary just hang in there."

There was a silence; the only thing being heard was Aidan's heavy, labored breathing from his aching body. God, his head especially was on fire!

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Elliot finally asked.

"Didn't one of the school guys already tell you about it?" Aidan asked, nursing his battered eye.

"They did," Elliot said loosely. "But, I'd rather hear it from you."

Aidan stared up at his godfather. What did he want him to say? He got in a fight that wasn't his fault. Okay, it was partially his fault, but only because he was trying to defend a poor, weak, vulnerable girl. He had to choose his words wisely with Elliot, he didn't want to get blamed or anything. The teenager took an uneasy breath.

"I didn't do it," Aidan said instinctively.

Elliot closed his eyes at his response and laid a heavy hand on the young man's shoulder. This could be more difficult than he expected.

"You know that's not the type of answer I was looking for," the cop said. Aidan fidgeted under the thin sheet. "How about you just go back to sleep and we'll talk about this later?"

Aidan nodded from his position on the pillow, causing him to stifle an audible hiss.

"I'll go ask the nurse for some painkillers on my way to the VP's office." Elliot said, reassuring the young man.

"Are you going to come back?" Aidan asked. Frankly, he was feeling a little paranoid that Steve would come back and finish him off. It wasn't very rational thinking, but, right then, his brain was too clouded by pain to care.

"As soon as I can," Elliot answered. "Just be resting while I'm gone though."

Elliot slid the curtain back walked the short length back to the front of the infirmary. The detective had to resist the growing urge to pummel the teen that had done that to Aidan however.

"Hi, can you give the last bed on the right, Aidan Connor, some painkillers?" Elliot asked the brunette, middle-aged nurse.

"Sure, I'm going to need you to sign this permission slip though." The nurse slid a small form and Elliot scrawled his name onto it.

"Thanks."

Harry, the paranoid man from earlier, entered the room again, searching for the cop.

"Oh, there you are." He said once he spotted him. "Umm, the vice principal is ready to see you now."

Elliot nodded and followed the man all the way back to the school's waiting room. Harry gestured for Elliot to step in first and walked in after him.

The office was dull and boring: the stereotypical desk along with all its stereotypical office things. It was cold and the thin chairs in the room looked less than inviting. Elliot was sure whatever feeling the principal was trying to instill in the kids he had accomplished.

"Hello, Mr. Stabler," the VP whipped around in his spinning chair and smiled, what seemed to Elliot, deviously. "I'm Mr. Weller, the vice principal here at Madison High School."

Elliot nodded awkwardly. This guy was weird. Mr. Weller gestured for Elliot to sit in one of the uncomfortable-looking chairs. The detective did so and found his observations to be true: the chair was incredibly uncomfortable. Elliot looked back and found that Harry had stepped out of the room moments before already.

"So, Mr. Stabler, you are the legal guardian to Aidan Connor?" Mr. Weller asked, looking up from a manila folder, his small, dark eyes studying the cop.

Elliot nodded.

"I want you to know that we do not tolerate fighting at this school."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Well then, you won't be surprised that Aidan is going to be suspended for three days either."

Elliot jerked his head up to look straight into the man's eyes.

"What?" He asked shortly.

"Aidan has shown acts of aggression towards another student, we can't let other students think they can get away with such actions. I'm sorry, but it's policy."

It was evident that the man held no sympathy for the situation; on the contrary, he seemed somewhat pleased.

"How can you do this?" Elliot asked incredulously. "Did you even bother to get Aidan's side of the story?"

"No, but we did get a very reliable source. They told us that your child was the one who initiated the fight."

Elliot stared hard in the other man's unwavering stare. That did not sound like Aidan at all.

"I suppose that is all then." Mr. Weller concluded after a heavy silence of the detective staring daggers at him. "Here is a list of his assignments for the next three days, his combination code so you can get his books, and a slip that you need to sign. I really am sorry about all this."

Again, Elliot knew that was a complete lie. He roughly grabbed the papers out of his hands and left the office irately.

XxxxXXXxxxX

After getting the books out of Aidan's locker, the detective made his way to the infirmary. He walked to the end of line of beds and found the young man resting peacefully.

Elliot took a deep breath. He had to calm down before he did something he knew he would regret.

The detective shook the young man out of his sleep, causing Aidan to groan. Elliot wasn't sure if it was out of pain or reluctance to grow up. Knowing Aidan though, it was probably the latter.

"C'mon, Aidan, we have to go home." Elliot continued to prod the young man to consciousness. Aidan sat up with a little struggle and looked up at his guardian. "How are you feeling?"

The young man pointed at a trash can, gesturing Elliot to give it to him. Elliot picked it up and handed it to him. Aidan nodded at the detective gratefully and barfed into the bin erratically. After a few moments, Aidan was left dry heaving, wiping excess spit on his sweater.

"Don't do that, Aidan," Elliot reprimanded lightly, handing the young man a napkin that was on the side table.

"Thanks," Aidan replied hoarsely, wiping off his mouth. A nurse suddenly entered, a tray holding a cup and a pitcher of water in hand.

"How're we doing over here?" she asked kindly, setting down the tray and filling the cup with the liquid before handing it to Aidan.

"He just vomited; is that something I should be worried about?" Elliot asked, watching Aidan drink the water thirstily.

"Oh no, that's just a side effect of the analgesic. I gave him a pretty strong dosage, so he should be pain free for a few more hours."

Elliot nodded.

"Okay, if that's all then, I think you're good to go."

"Thank you."

XxxxXXXxxxX

Elliot walked out of the school quickly, dragging a drowsy Aidan behind him. He made his way towards his car which was illegally parked in front of the building and threw the young man's books in the back seat.

"Hurry up, Aidan, I got to get back to the station," Elliot said. The young man continued to plod slowly towards the car. _This day sucks. I didn't even see what the classes were like. Plus, I know I'll be hurting like hell in a few hours._

Elliot grumbled about spoiled rich kids but immediately stopped once Aidan sat heavily into the passenger side. Elliot started up the car and peeled out of the lot at a dangerously fast speed. This didn't faze Aidan though; he was stuck in a depressed dreamland as he stared at the billowing storm clouds over head through his window. _Looks like the weather decided to match my mood…_

Elliot glanced at the young man after he finished cursing a red light which forced him to abide by the law and stop his outrageous speeding. Aidan had a sad, empty look in his eyes that made the detective's insides churn. It hurt Elliot to see him so upset, but he couldn't do much to help him.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Elliot asked, pushing down on the acceleration once the light turned green again.

Aidan looked up higher in the sky. He couldn't think straight right now, he felt confused. He knew that to be a side effect of the painkiller but he didn't like it.

"Can we talk about it later?"

Elliot gave a contemplating nod.

"Sure."

The rest of the ride was silent.

XxxxXXXxxxX

Elliot arrived at the station and quickly killed the engine. Aidan had fallen asleep some time ago so he didn't bother waking him up. He got out of the car and entered the building. On cue, his boss was on him and trailing behind him was his partner.

"Where have you been, detective?" Cragen asked heatedly. "Your partner has been covering you for an hour with that victim as well as doing _your_ reports."

"I'm sorry, Captain, it just my kid got into a fight-"

"I don't want your excuses," Cragen interrupted. "I want you to get back to work."

The older man sent Elliot a stern look before turning around and quickly walking back to his office.

Elliot sighed rubbed his head. Olivia walked over and handed him some files she was holding.

"Liv, I'm sorry. Aidan got pretty beat up and I had to go-"

"It's all right, really." Olivia said, giving him a genuine smile.

Elliot nodded and started walking towards the familiar workplace while his partner followed. He stopped mid-step when he realized he had left Aidan in the car.

"God, I'm sorry, Liv, but I need to get Aidan. I promise it will only take a few minutes this time."

Olivia nodded.

"Better hurry before Cragen sees." Olivia smiled.

Elliot rushed out after giving Olivia a quick thanks. He exited the doors outside and where a heavy down pour was taking place. He ran to his car's passenger door, finding Aidan the same way he left him: head lying in an odd position on the window and all.

Elliot opened the side door and caught the young man from falling by his arm. Aidan was slightly conscious again, blearily opening his eyes.

"What's going on?" Aidan asked, raindrops wetting his hair.

"Wake up, Aidan, just get inside the building and you can sleep in one of the station's cots, all right?" Elliot said impatiently, trying to gently lift the boy by his arm but failing.

Aidan groaned.

"No, sleep… here…" he replied tiredly, trying to get his arm back in the warm shelter.

"No, Aidan. Now." Elliot said firmly, giving the young man a very harsh tug on his arm, causing Aidan to topple clumsily onto the asphalt.

Aidan opened his eyes when he hit the cool road. His hands, which had helped him catch himself in the fall, were bleeding slightly from the pieces of glass that were lying on the street. His shoulder also had a pain slight pain in it now. Elliot _definitely_ never did that before. The cop was always fairly kind and sensitive, not once had he ever intentionally hurt him.

The young man slowly looked into his guardian's eyes. Elliot looked shocked at himself.

"I'm sorry," Elliot started slowly. "I didn't mean-"

Aidan interrupted him by quickly getting off the ground. That was a mistake in itself though as he became dizzy and faint and threw up on the floor. _How many times am I going to do that today?_ The rain quickly washed the vomit away and Aidan continued his wobbly (but still angry) trek towards the station doors.

Elliot went after him and grabbed the young man's arm.

"Aidan-" Elliot began again pleadingly.

"Stop it, Elliot!" Aidan said, pulling his arm back. He looked into his guardian's eyes. They were both drenched now. "Just don't-"

The young man turned around and ran through the doors into the station. Elliot rushed after him but was stopped, once again, by his boss. He halted when he spotted him, but stared anxiously after Aidan's fleeing form as he rounded the corner into the room which held the temporary cots.

"Get. To. _Work_. Last warning." Cragen said firmly before exiting into his office again.

Elliot nodded, made sure his boss was gone, and continued his chase after Aidan.

Olivia stood up once he passed their desk.

"Hey, what's up-"

"I'm sorry, Liv, I just really need to deal with something."

"You know you owe me,"

"I realized that." Elliot replied, managing a small smile.

Olivia sighed and plopped back into her chair to continue her _partner's_ work.

Elliot reached the cot room and took a deep breath before opening the door.

He found Aidan lying with his back towards him in one of the small, gray beds. He could tell that the young man had stiffened once he entered which dropped a heavy burden of sorrow onto his shoulders.

Elliot slowly made his way towards Aidan's bed and gently sat down on the one nearest his. Elliot stared sadly at his charge's back. He never thought he would do such a cruel act. About a hundred thoughts ran through his head, defending his side of the story. _He wasn't listening to me… He wouldn't hurry up… _Elliot knew he was just acting like every other child abuser he dealt with when he thought such things, which unloaded bigger weight onto his shoulders.

"Aidan, please hear me out," the detective said in the most earnest voice he could muster. "I never meant to do that to you. I don't want to give you excuses though of why I did, I can't really explain it; I just want to say I'm sorry. You're the only thing I have right now with the kids mostly at Kathy's house, it would never be in a million years my intention to hurt you. Knowing that I did just moments earlier is killing me… Aidan, I really need you to know… I love you."

Aidan listened intently to every word. The last sentenced certainly rocked his world though. He faced his guardian, fresh tears replacing the old ones.

"I'm sorry," Aidan confessed.

Elliot gave him an incredulous look, a stray tear had fallen down his face but he wiped it away quickly.

"For what?" Elliot asked softly.

"I'm putting a lot of stress on you-"

"Aidan, don't think that." Elliot said breaking the young man off. "My job is my only stress. I've let it ruin a lot of things, but I promise you, I won't let it ruin this."

Aidan stared at him. That was a big promise to keep. It truly touched the young man that his new dad was willing to say it.

Aidan got up from his bed and walked over to Elliot. They stared for a few moments before Elliot wrapped the young man in a tight embrace. They stayed like for a few moments when Aidan's stomach let out a loud rumble. It was then that the young man realized he hadn't eaten anything since that morning.

They broke out of the hug and Aidan gave Elliot a watery smile, wiping the tears that were rolling down his cheeks away with his sweater sleeve.

"Hungry?" Elliot asked, getting up from the bed.

Aidan looked up at him.

"Kind of…"

"You make deciphering if you're lying or not way to easy," Elliot pointed out. Aidan laughed as they both made their way towards the stations vending machines.

XxxxXXXxxxX

A/N: Wow, that was mushy. .:laughs:. Anyways, I promise you people a faster update but only if I get some tiny morsel of feedback. It will be much appreciated! Thank you for reading!


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